Today, AI-powered chatbots have become essential tools for a wide variety of purposes. There’s a dazzling array of chatbots available, each with unique features and capabilities.
That’s why I’ve compiled this list of the best free AI chatbots based on my own experience, testing, and user feedback. You’ll learn about their strengths, limitations, and the features of their free versions.
What Is an AI Chatbot?
AI chatbots are computer programs capable of engaging in conversations with humans. With advancements in artificial intelligence, they can understand context, answer complex questions, assist with creative tasks, and even continuously improve through interactive learning.
Whether you need a question answered or simply need someone to discuss your thoughts, these chatbots can quickly complete your task without waiting. They are widely used in customer support, education, content creation, programming, and other fields.
Of course, they may sometimes misunderstand your questions and provide inaccurate answers. However, with continuous improvements, AI chatbots are becoming increasingly reliable, becoming a reliable tool for boosting productivity and creativity.
8 Best Free AI Chatbots
1. ChatGPT 3.5: Best AI tool for writing, brainstorming, and summarizing
I’ve tried many AI chatbots, but ChatGPT remains my top choice because its free version is already very powerful. It gives you access to GPT-3.5 without paying, and it excels at everyday tasks like writing, brainstorming, summarizing, and general conversation.
My favorite thing about it is how easy it is to use. Simply log in with your email, enter your question or request, and start chatting right away. I use it to write blog introductions, organize travel plans, have daily conversations, and even debug some code. Most of the time, it provides reliable and natural responses. Even if the first response isn’t accurate, adjustments usually bring it back to a satisfactory answer.
The free version of ChatGPT uses a memory feature that helps it stay contextually aware, making chats feel more like real conversations. However, the free version doesn’t include advanced features like SearchGPT or voice chat, and its answers are sometimes not entirely accurate. Still, for a free AI chatbot, I’m satisfied with its powerful capabilities.
Read more: How to Use ChatGPT 4o (Free & Pro)? A Beginner’s Guide
2. Grok 3: Great for real-time info and all-in-one search
Grok 3 is xAI’s latest AI chatbot, now available for free on the web and mobile devices. Simply log in with your X account to start chatting; no subscription is required.
I’ve used it to explore news trends, generate images, brainstorm ideas, and even analyze documents. Features like deep search, image creation, data analysis, and programming assistance are all available in the free version. It also extracts real-time information from web pages and X posts, making it more up-to-date than most other free AI chatbots. You can also upload files, edit images, and even have it draw portraits of people based on photos.
That said, Grok isn’t perfect. While it aims to provide “unfiltered answers,” this means it can share inaccurate or biased information, a common problem with AI chatbots.
However, if you’re looking for a free AI tool that’s up-to-date, Grok 3 is definitely worth a try.
3. Character AI: Most fun for entertainment and character roleplay
Character AI is a free chatbot platform that’ll get you hooked. You can chat with nearly anyone you can imagine, including historical figures, fictional characters, and celebrities.
The magic lies in its flexibility. You can chat with ready-made characters created by the community, or create your own bot by setting the personality, background, and tone—no programming required.
I frequently use it to create short story dialogues, chat with “virtual celebrities,” and even simulate fun hypothetical scenarios. Thanks to its extensive language model, the conversation experience is surprisingly realistic, and it’s free to use.
However, because it prioritizes fun and flexibility, it sometimes prioritizes personalization over accuracy. The free plan allows you to create up to five characters per day, send a limited number of messages, and access all core chat features. Character AI Premium subscriptions are available for $9.99 per month, offering access to additional new features.
Read more: 5 Ways to Get Character AI Unblocked Anywhere
4. Google Gemini Free: Excellent AI search tool
Google’s Gemini is a chatbot deeply integrated into the Google ecosystem. Simply log in with your Google account to access a range of powerful features, including real-time answers through Google Search, double-checking with Google, and generating images for free.
I use it to plan trips, check real-time hotel and flight prices, brainstorm blog topics, and even verify my research by flagging suspicious information.
However, the free version can’t handle file uploads like PDFs or spreadsheets. Advanced features, such as Gemini Pro models or AI-powered video creation, require a $19.99/month plan.
If you’re already comfortable using Gmail, Docs, or Google Drive, Gemini is a free chatbot well worth trying.
5. LiveChatAI: Best for customer service automation
LiveChatAI is an AI-powered chatbot that can automatically resolve up to 70% of customer questions. It supports over 95 languages, allowing your customers to get help in their own language.
I tried it on an e-commerce website. You can train it by uploading content or having it crawl your website. Within minutes, it can answer questions about order status and product sizing.
LiveChatAI offers a free forever plan with 250 GPT-4o messages per month. There’s no trial timeout and no credit card required, but it doesn’t include live chat transfers to human agents.
If the free plan isn’t enough for you, LiveChatAI offers a basic plan for $39 per month, which increases your monthly limit to 4,000 GPT-4o messages and a training limit of 5 million characters.
6. Poe AI: A collection of AI models
If you’ve ever dreamed of chatting with AI bots like ChatGPT, Claude, DALL·E 3, and Stable Diffusion, Poe AI is sure to make that dream a reality. It integrates several large AI language models and offers everything from image generation to content writing.
Best of all, Poe offers a free version. No subscription required, you can instantly chat with various AI models, try out different response styles, and even build your own chatbot. I tried Poe’s writing assistance, quick programming, and image generation features, and they were very convenient and fast.
However, free users may not have access to the latest AI models, and if you chat a lot, your message limit will quickly be exhausted.
For those who demand more, Poe offers a single paid plan for $19.99 per month. This unlocks the latest and most advanced models, such as GPT-5, Claude 2, and DALL·E 3.
7. DeepSeek R1: Excels at solving logical reasoning problems.
Powered by its latest R1 inference model, DeepSeek can handle challenging problems with a performance strikingly close to that of high-end AI tools like OpenAI’s o3 series, and you can try it for free.
Using DeepSeek is incredibly easy. Open the website or mobile app, enter your question, and it’ll respond quickly with thoughtful and detailed answers. You can also enable web search for updates, upload text documents for analysis, and review your conversation history.
In my experience, DeepSeek’s logical reasoning, step-by-step explanations, and detailed analysis of complex topics are excellent. However, it might not be ideal for writing English content.
DeepSeek is completely free, with no credit card required. If you’d like to run models offline on your own device, you can deploy them locally.
8. Copilot: Best for Microsoft 365 users
Microsoft Copilot is a free AI chatbot built into Office apps like Microsoft Edge and Word.
In everyday use, Copilot can help you with tasks like drafting emails, creating documents, analyzing data, and even quickly putting together presentations. If you already use Microsoft 365, it’s even more convenient.
I also enjoyed using it for image generation and simple creative tasks. Copilot is based on the powerful GPT-4 model and incorporates Microsoft’s own technology, so it can do much of what you’d expect from a top-tier AI assistant.
If you want more functionality, Microsoft offers a paid plan. Bundled with a Microsoft 365 subscription, it starts at around $10 per month and includes the full suite of Office apps along with Copilot’s AI-assisted features.
Best Free AI Chatbots Comparison
| Name | Image Generation Support | File Upload Support | Completely Free |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT 3.5 | No | No | No |
| DeepSeek R1 | No | Yes (Text extraction only) | Yes |
| Grok 3 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft Copilot | Yes | Yes | No |
| Google Gemini Free | Yes | No | No |
| Character AI | Yes | No | No |
| Poe AI | Yes | No | No |
| LiveChatAI | No | Yes | No |
How to Choose the Best AI Chatbot?
With over 240 AI chatbots available, choosing the right one can be daunting. Based on my experience testing numerous chatbots, here are the factors I consider when choosing an AI chatbot:
- AI Model Quality: The core of any chatbot is its AI engine. I look for models that provide accurate, clear, and contextually aware answers, rather than robotic or cookie-cutter responses.
- User Experience and Usability: A good chatbot should have an intuitive interface for beginners while being powerful enough for professionals to customize.
- Practical Functionality Beyond Chat: Chatbots that can search the web, generate images, create charts, and even build mini-dashboards can boost your productivity.
- Flexibility and Customization: We all have different needs, so I value chatbots that allow me to adjust their style, tone, or workflow.
- Privacy and Transparency: I trust chatbots that clearly explain how they process my data and provide options for controlling sharing, ensuring your information remains secure and protected.
As long as you keep these points in mind, you will be able to find the chatbot that is truly right for you.
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FAQ about Free AI Chatbot
Q1: Do AI chatbots store or use my data?
Yes, many free AI chatbots store your conversations, typically for training and improving models. If you value privacy, choose a chatbot that’s transparent about how your data is processed and offers a “no data retention” or “private mode” option.
Q2: What can I do with a free AI chatbot?
You can use an AI chatbot to answer questions, write blog posts, draft emails, summarize long articles, translate text, and even help with code.
Some advanced chatbots also offer features like searching the web, generating images, or analyzing documents.
Q3: What is the best completely free AI chatbot?
The best AI chatbot depends on your needs and preferences. If you want a well-balanced, all-around AI chatbot, ChatGPT Free is a good choice. If you prioritize built-in tools, Microsoft Copilot performs better. If you’re looking for advanced reasoning and open access, DeepSeek R1 is a good choice.
